The Carolina Hurricanes will look to even up their best-of-seven series when they battle the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of their 2026 Stanley Cup Final matchup on Tuesday. Vegas outlasted Carolina 5-4 in double overtime on Saturday night to take a 2-1 series lead. The Hurricanes (53-22-7), who finished the regular season with 113 points, are looking to win their second-ever Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights (39-26-17), who finished with 95 points, are looking to win their second Stanley Cup title and first since 2023. The Hurricanes have not committed to a starting goalie after Brandon Bussi came in for Frederik Anderson in Game 3.

Face-off from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is set for 8 p.m. ET. The Hurricanes are the -114 favorites (risk $114 to win $100) in the latest Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights odds, while the over/under for total goals scored is 5.5. Before making any Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights picks, check out the 2026 Stanley Cup Final predictions and betting advice for Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights from the SportsLine Projection Model.

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The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NHL game 10,000 times. The model entered the 2026 Stanley Cup Final with a +568 return on top-rated money-line NHL picks. Anyone following its NHL betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.

Now, the model has simulated Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NHL picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NHL odds and trends for Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes:

Top Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes predictions

After 10,000 simulations of Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (5.5). The Over has hit in six of the past 10 head-to-head matchups. The Over has also hit in each of the last four Carolina games, and in four of the past five Vegas games. The Over has also hit in 50 of the last 98 Carolina games with two pushes.

The SportsLine model is projecting Carolina’s Seth Jarvis to score .41 goals and .43 assists, while goaltender Frederik Andersen will make 22 saves and allow 3.11 goals. Vegas’ Pavel Dorofeyev is projected to score .46 goals and .28 assists. Goalie Carter Hart will make 25.8 saves and allow 2.92 goals. It also projects 6.2 combined goals between the teams, making the Over having all the value. See the model’s Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights predictions at SportsLine.

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How to make Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights picks 

After simulating each shift of Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes 10,000 times, the model also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NHL picks. 

So who wins Golden Knights vs. Hurricanes, and which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Hurricanes vs. Golden Knights spread to back, all from the model that has returned $668 on top-rated NHL picks, and find out.

Iran‘s football federation said on Tuesday its ticket allocation had been pulled just days before the World Cup starts, leaving supporters who had already made travel plans unable to attend their team’s matches.

The World Cup begins on Thursday, with Iran playing their first two Group G games in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, and then facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: All the fixtures

In a statement, the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) said it had already begun the ticket sales process for the matches but could no longer provide them to fans.

“This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches,” the FFIRI added in a statement.

“Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries.

“This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organization of the world’s biggest football event.”

Each participating federation at the World Cup receives 8% of the tickets for each of their matches to be allocated to fans according to their own criteria.

The FFIRI did not say who had made the decision to withhold the tickets but urged FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to adhere to “the principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations” and called on it to prevent off-field issues from casting a shadow over the tournament.

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

‘Principles of neutrality’

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino stated in 2017 — when US soccer officials were preparing a co-hosting bid with Canada and Mexico they won the following year — that fans must have access to the tournament.

“It’s obvious when it comes to FIFA competitions as well (that) any team, including the supporters and the officials of that team, who would qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” Infantino said nine years ago. “That is obvious.”

Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been clouded by uncertainty since the US and Israel launched air strikes on the Islamic Republic in late February, triggering a regional conflict. 

The FFIRI negotiated to move the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico, due to uncertainty over whether they would be granted US visas and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the US should be kept to a minimum.

Iran’s World Cup team arrives in Mexico amid US visa row

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After weeks of uncertainty, the US awarded visas to all the players last week – 10 days before their first match – but several members of staff did not receive them.

A US official told Reuters on Friday that the administration had issued “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup”.

FIFA said earlier on Tuesday that Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom had held a “positive discussion” with FFIRI President Mehdi Taj after the team arrived at their tournament base.

“With the team now in Mexico, FIFA will continue dialogue and collaboration with the FFIRI to ensure the team and the delegation’s experience is a positive one,” Grafstrom said in a statement.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP)

England’s Ben Stokes (AP Photo)

England’s preparations for the second Test against New Zealand have been overshadowed by a fresh off-field controversy involving captain Ben Stokes and fast bowler Gus Atkinson. The pair are reported to have broken the team curfew after England’s 115-run victory in the opening Test at Lord’s and later become involved in an altercation that allegedly escalated into a physical confrontation.The rugby player involved was identified by Britain’s Press Association as Totoa Auvaa, the former Samoa A and Samoa Under-20 captain, who stands 6ft 5in (1.95m) tall and weighs more than 124kg. The investigation into the incident has delayed England’s squad announcement for the second Test at The Oval and intensified scrutiny of Stokes’ leadership.The episode has also fuelled speculation about Stokes’ longer-term future. Recent reports have suggested the England all-rounder is reassessing his international career, with retirement among the possibilities being discussed.

Boycott calls for suspension, not a fine

Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott said the ECB must act firmly if Stokes is found to have breached team rules, arguing that the captain should not receive special treatment because of his importance to the side.“The England and Wales Cricket Board has to make an example of Ben Stokes and slap him with a suspension after he was caught breaking the team’s curfew. You cannot have the captain blatantly breaking the rules and not do anything about it just because he is so important to the team,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.Boycott also said the responsibility for dealing with the matter rests with England’s cricket leadership, while acknowledging that any final judgment on Stokes’ future should await the findings of the investigation.“If Rob Key, the England director of cricket, or Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, are not up to the task of disciplining Stokes then they should not be in a job. I said before that Brendon McCullum and Key should have been sacked. Come on Rob and Brendon, what are you going to do about this? Whether Stokes should be sacked depends on the full circumstances of the incident. An investigation is ongoing and it has to get to the bottom of what happened before making that judgment call,” he added.

Discipline and leadership under the spotlight

In Boycott’s view, the issue extends beyond a single night out and goes directly to standards within the England setup. He argued that a token financial penalty would send the wrong message and that any punishment must underline the captain’s responsibility to lead by example.“But that does not detract from the fact that Stokes as captain should be setting the tone. England cannot beat Australia next summer without discipline. And discipline applies off the field as well as on it. We don’t want a paltry fine. They earn so much money now that a few thousand quid means nothing to them. It is a suspension we need to see,” he wrote.With the ECB investigation still underway, no disciplinary outcome has yet been announced. Until that process concludes, uncertainty continues to hang over Stokes, Atkinson and England’s leadership ahead of the next Test.

Manchester United wonderkid JJ Gabriel is set to get some game time against some big names

JJ Gabriel has learned when he could make his senior debut after Manchester United put the final touches to their pre-season plans.

After an exceptional season for the under-18s, which saw him score 21 goals in 23 games, the 15-year-old is set to be part of United’s pre-season tour of mainland Europe. As he was 14 when last season began, he was unable to play for the first team in the Premier League.

There are no restrictions now and he could conceivably become one of the youngest players in Premier League history next season. With the club keen to show there is a path to the first team and with many still stars recovering from the World Cup, Gabriel will be part of the pre-season tour that will now feature a prestigious friendly against AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland on August 15.

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By then, United’s World Cup stars will have returned to the squad, with the Premier League season starting a week late. The Reds open their pre-season with a clash against Wrexham in Helsinki on July 18 – the day before the World Cup final – before facing Rosenborg in Trondheim, Norway the following Friday.

They then play two fixtures in Sweden, meeting Atletico Madrid in the Snapdragon Cup in Stockholm on August 1 and facing European champions Paris St Germain in Gothenburg one week later.

United face Leeds in Dublin on August 12 and will complete their pre-season against Milan three days later. Gabriel is likely to figure in the early friendlies at least, and probably more if he impresses.

Michael Carrick had already seen enough last season, inviting him to train with the first team. Speaking in March, Carrick said: “He is not allowed [to be part of a first-team squad on a matchday]. He’s too young.

“JJ’s doing really well. We’ve got some really good players in the academy and we try and get the younger players up [with the main group] as much as we can.

“We’re always trying to give them that exposure. JJ is a big talent, it is pretty obvious and he has had a good season for U18s. We think an awful lot of him.

“But patience is important in managing everything that comes with that and developing him and picking the right moment to step up, to leave them in a certain place. He’s trained well and it is good to have young players up.”

On United’s pre-season programme, director of football Jason Wilcox told the club’s website: “With fixtures now confirmed across five countries and six fantastic cities, these matches will provide strong preparation for the 2026-27 season and a valuable opportunity to connect with our incredible fans across Europe. Their support will be vital as we build momentum.”

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Last year, the NFL media and fan community debated whether quarterback Kyler Murray had been “softly benched” in Arizona, a theory that felt vindicated when the Cardinals released him in March. Fast forward to June 2026, and Bleacher Report claims Murray could be benched again this season, this time courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings.

BR’s Kristopher Knox published a list of the most benchable quarterbacks this year, and sadly, Murray made the cut.

Not Everyone Is Sold on the Vikings’ QB1 Solution

BR: Murray Could Be Benched

On a list that included players like Jacoby Brissett and Geno Smith, Murray got benchable treatment. Knox wrote, “According to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, Murray currently leads the competition, and the gap between the quarterbacks is ‘not close.’ Murray is a dynamic dual-threat and was a Pro Bowler early in his career with Arizona.”

“He should give Minnesota a boost at quarterback this season, and at 28 years old, he could potentially become a long-term answer for Minnesota. However, there’s no guarantee that Murray will do either of those things. He never showed consistency as a passer with the Cardinals — the offense was more effective with Brissett behind center last season — and he has never delivered a playoff win.”

While Murray has never notched a triumph in the postseason, the Vikings haven’t won a playoff game since 2019.

“It’s easy to think that Murray will be better under Kevin O’Connell and with weapons like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at his disposal,” Knox continued.

“If he isn’t, though, Minnesota may eventually give McCarthy another chance to redeem himself. McCarthy, after all, is only two years into his rookie contract, while Murray is only signed through this season.”

Well … Insert for McCarthy for a Sequel

Should Murray get benched, McCarthy would step in, presenting his true shot at redemption. He would need to be prepared, and the Vikings would quickly assess his capabilities. He notably displayed flashes of potential in 2025, particularly in late-game situations. Following Week 14, he was even ranked as the NFL’s sixth-best quarterback per EPA+CPOE.

It’s entirely conceivable that McCarthy could enter, stabilize the offense, and permanently secure the starting position.

Furthermore, he still has ample time. First-round quarterbacks are eligible for a fifth-year option, and McCarthy will only be 23 this season. If he excels by 2028, Minnesota can exercise that option, maintaining its long-term strategy. It’s one of the distinct advantages of having both Murray and McCarthy: the Vikings gain an immediate upgrade while preserving McCarthy’s potential for an additional three years.

The sole reason for a trade would be if McCarthy himself demanded one. Should he desire to leave, Minnesota would face a decision. Until then, exercising patience remains the most prudent course of action.

In short, if Murray gets benched per the BR speculation, well, the Vikings planned for this, and his name is J.J. McCarthy.

The Murray Price Is Still Worth It

Murray arrived in Minnesota with a $1.3 million price tag. That’s absurdly affordable. In fact, every team in the NFL should’ve jumped on Murray’s availability, including teams with elite quarterbacks, like the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, solely because the value was just so tremendous.

Consider this: if Murray flames out in Minnesota or gets hurt this summer, adding him for $1.3 million was still worth the gamble.

If you believe in sports hacks, this is the grandaddy — obtaining Murray for the veteran minimum. The value gets no better.

Two Other Ex-Vikings on the BR List

Daniel Jones, who stopped by the Vikings in 2024, also made Knox’s list: “Jones, who was recently cleared for 7-on-7 work, will need to replicate his 2025 success. If he can’t, the Colts may try to salvage the season with Richardson — if he’s still on the roster — or Riley Leonard, while keeping an eye on that 2027 QB class. Unfortunately, playing well on a year-to-year basis wasn’t something Jones did during his six seasons with the New York Giants.”

So did Kirk Cousins, who quarterbacked the Vikings from 2018 to 2023, though a benchable Cousins is to be expected after the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Fernando Mendoza in April.

“Let’s not forget that the Falcons went 5-3 with Cousins as the starter last year and might well have won the NFC South if it had leaned on him all season. If Las Vegas is a surprise playoff team with Cousins at the helm, hold off on passing the proverbial torch,” Knox opined about Cousins.

“If the Raiders aren’t in a position to make a run, however, they’ll turn things over to Mendoza once they feel he is prepared to start. As Gagnon put it, the reigning Heisman winner and national champion is “the long-term dude” for Las Vegas.”

Murray will turn 29 in August, and if BR has it wrong about his benchability, he could latch on as the Vikings’ QB1 for the next half-decade-plus.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

Two summers ago, Scotland’s Euros opener proved to be one of their biggest letdowns under Clarke – a 5-1 loss to hosts Germany.

“We have to remember how bad that felt,” the head coach says.

Clarke believes that crushing defeat put Scotland “on the back foot” for the remainder of their tournament, which again ended at the group stage.

“This time, we have to make sure we start on the front foot,” he insists.

On the evidence of the Scots’ warm-up displays, there are signs they can achieve that against a similarly-ranked nation this weekend.

The recent adoption of an aggressive 4-4-2 shape with two strikers playing centrally and direct winger Ben Doak operating off the right feeds into the idea of a “different Steve Clarke”, although he suggested he has been unfairly “tagged with a label”.

“I think I’ve shown consistently throughout my time that I’m prepared to try something different,” says Clarke, who feels he has his best depth across a Scotland squad.

“Going into this tournament, the something different was to think about maybe playing 4-4-2 to see how it worked.

“What people don’t understand is when you’re at a club you can work on a system for a long period of time and have a lot of training sessions on it. When you’re in an international camp you don’t have that.”

Real Madrid has officially informed Benfica they would to pay the release clause for manager José Mourinho. Pierre Sage is set to leave RC Lens to take charge of Crystal Palace next season. Canada has stated that Somali referee Omar Artan is welcome on its territory, after he was denied entry to the United States. In tennis, Serena Williams has made a successful comeback, as has Nick Kyrgios. Paris Basket has qualified for the Betclic Élite final.

NEW YORK — On Tuesday, the day after handing the New York Knicks their first loss in 46 days — a 115-111 decision in Game 3 of the NBA Finals — San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle recalled a different, much less exhilarating game at Madison Square Garden. On the first day of March, the Spurs were flying high, winners of 11 straight games, and New York sent them crashing back down to earth with a 25-point rout. It was their first loss in more than a month, and it was an eye-opener.

“It made us realize that we’re not invincible,” Castle said. “If we don’t do the things we’re supposed to, we’re still a beatable team.”

Now it’s clear that the Knicks, up 2-1 in the series, aren’t invincible, either. And maybe they were overdue for this kind of wake-up call. For all of the discussion of what changed in Game 3 — more alley-oops for Victor Wembanyama, fewer buckets from Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, etc. — there hasn’t been much made of how similar it was to Game 2: San Antonio built a double-digit lead in the first quarter, New York stormed back to take a lead into halftime and the Spurs went on a run in the fourth quarter, during which the Knicks’ offense fell to pieces. The difference is that New York didn’t escape Monday’s game with a victory.

Three games in, the Knicks have outscored San Antonio by 2.8 points per 100 possessions (or seven total points) in the series. New York is only two wins away from a championship, but if it loses a second straight game at home, the Spurs will be in the same spot, with home-court advantage. 

How can the Knicks get their groove back?

New York has been playing a dangerous game

After the Knicks scored 91.3 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter of their Game 2 win, several of their players said they needed to tighten up their late-game execution. Then they scored 87 per 100 in the fourth quarter of their Game 3 loss.

“There were a lot of times where the decisions weren’t made quick last night,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “One guy caught, held, held, held, held, held. Now the defense settles in. Now you’re in trouble.”

Knicks’ win streak is finally dead, but it’s still the Spurs who are clinging to life in the NBA Finals

Brad Botkin

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Against a defense like San Antonio’s, with the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama patrolling the paint and sturdy, athletic defenders on the perimeter, you don’t want to get stagnant. Patience, however, has been a virtue for the Knicks throughout their magical run to the Finals. At their best, they find easy points in transition, move the ball in the halfcourt and demoralize opponents by making tough shots late in the clock.

Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Bridges and Deuce McBride all seem to have a knack for knocking down jumpers after an opponent has played 20-plus seconds of good defense. In Game 3, Anunoby and Jordan Clarkson both hit 3s that sent the crowd into a frenzy:

You need to make contested, late-clock jumpers in the playoffs. You do not, however, want to rely on them. In this respect, the Knicks have been playing a dangerous game. During the playoffs, a league-high 24% of their plays have gone down to the last four seconds of the shot clock; they’ve scored 94.3 points per 100 possessions on those plays, per Hoops Junkie. In Game 3, those numbers were 27.3% and 80 per 100.

Bridges said there was “too much ball-watching, standing around.” The combination of Wembanyama and the Spurs’ physical guards can sometimes cause “confusion,” he said, but “we just got to keep moving.”

With about four minutes left in Game 3 and the Spurs up by eight, Knicks guard Landry Shamet slipped to the rim and got San Antonio in the blender. It technically didn’t turn into a late-clock possession, by Hoops Junkie’s definition, but it was a masterclass in multiple-effort defense by San Antonio. New York had the Spurs scrambling, but they kept rotating until Shamet decided to drive a Wembanyama closeout and the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year swatted him at the rim:

Post-game, De’Aaron Fox said San Antonio knows the Knicks are going to try to draw Wembanyama out of the paint. The Spurs also know that they’re going to have to rotate, communicate and try to force the Knicks to play deep into the clock.

“If you’re playing 21, 22 seconds of great defense, they make a shot, tap ’em on the butt, good job,” Fox said. “That’s where we want to live. We want to live in the area of them trying to take tough shots at the end of the shot clock.”

The interesting thing about that particular possession, though, is that New York could also frame it as a positive. The offense was not stagnant. The ball pinged around the court. In the same way that San Antonio can’t be discouraged by tough shot-making, the Knicks can’t be discouraged by Wembanyama making an amazing block. 

“We’ve forced them to take a lot of shots at the end of clock,” Johnson said. “They’ve made a lot of those shots. There’s some give-and-take there. I think we’ve shown that we can be impactful when we’re connected and doing it the right way. They’ve shown they do a great job moving the ball and making the basketball find the open man. I think it will be a little bit of tug-of-war until this thing’s over.”

How can the Knicks clean things up?

Towns had some harsh words for his team’s performance in Game 3: “Playing around with the game against a great team, you’re asking for a disaster, and that’s what we got.”

In Towns’ estimation, New York was “not executing the little details that made us special.” The Knicks turned the ball over twice before they scored a single point. They sent the Spurs to the line for 24 free throws in the second half. He was hardly the only Knicks player who was disappointed; Bridges described his own individual showing as “terrible.”

“We were making turnovers that was uncharacteristic of us, just being sloppy with the ball, not being on the same page,” Anunoby said. “During the course of the game, stuff like that happens. We’re going to try to clean it up.”

Hart noted that, because San Antonio was at the free-throw line so often, “it was tough to run.” In the postseason, New York has generally been locked in on both ends, quick to adjust to whatever defensive coverage is thrown its way and disciplined in its defensive game plan. Against this opponent, though, everything is more difficult, as it is supposed to be at this stage. 

The Spurs’ ball pressure has been relentless, and so has their rim pressure on the offensive end. Hart said that they need to be better about “not letting the ball touch the paint,” but that’s a lot easier said than done when Castle, Fox and Dylan Harper are in attack mode, especially if Brunson is either involved in the action or providing little resistance as the low man.

Towns hasn’t scored in the fourth quarter in any Finals game. Bridges, generally a good barometer for the offense, scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting in 29 minutes in Game 3. Brown gives the Knicks the freedom to play out of concepts rather than run many set plays, but this demands they play with purpose. Towns had smaller defenders on him for more of Monday’s game than he did in either of the previous two, and New York didn’t make the most of that advantage. 

In Brunson’s view, the fixes for Game 4 on Wednesday are simple: don’t turn the ball over, stop fouling and “continue to be who we are.” In Fox’s view, though, the Spurs have been “in control” as long as they’ve taken care of the ball themselves, kept the Knicks out of transition and protected the defensive glass. We’re at the stage of the series where both teams understand exactly what the other one wants to do, both teams think their wounds are self-inflicted and the margins are extremely thin.

“At this point, it’s a battle of wills and a battle of who can execute the most,” Fox said.